He shook his head.
David’s brows furrowed.
“Is something wrong?”
Farzan swallowed. His chest was too tight. His heart hurt, like a fist was squeezing it until it burst.
“Let’s just get this over with,” he finally said.
“Uh. What?”
“It’s okay,” Farzan said. “I’m a big boy. I knew this was coming.”
“Knew what now?” David asked, cocking his head to the side. But he didn’t have to put on the act. Farzan was strong enough to handle this.
It wasn’t the first time a guy had broken up with him.
“We always said we’d figure things out when the time came. And it’s time, isn’t it?”
David shook his head. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying it’s okay.” It wasn’t okay. It would never be okay. But this was what was best for David. Farzan had to let him go. “I don’t want some… some long, drawn-out thing, okay? I can’t take it. So let’s just end things now. Before this whole thing becomes even more painful.”
David’s eyes went wide. “Endthings? I don’t understand.”
“You’re leaving,” Farzan said. “I know it’ll be a little while, but why dig the hole any deeper than it already is?”
“What if I wasn’t?”
“Wasn’t what?”
“What if I wasn’t leaving?” David swallowed, slow, and for somereason that nearly broke Farzan. His eyes were burning. He pursed his lips and took a sharp breath.
“It’s your dream, David. I’m not going to hold you back.”
“What if it’s not my dream?”
“It’s literally all you’ve talked about for as long as I’ve known you.” Why was David making this so hard? Didn’t he get it?
Farzan was setting him free.
David tried to turn, but his seat belt was still buckled. He unlatched it and faced Farzan fully. “Why are you doing this? I thought we were happy. I thought we loved each other. You know how hard it was for me to say that? You know how long it’s been since I loved someone?”
Every word felt like a corkscrew to Farzan’s gut.
“It’s been a long time for me, too,” Farzan said. “But the longer we put it off, the worse it’s going to hurt. So let’s do ourselves both a favor and end it now.”
“Something happened,” David said. “We were happy last night, and now… fuck. Your interview was today. I meant to ask.”
Farzan went quiet. He didn’t want to get into this. Didn’t want to admit it out loud.
“What happened?” David asked, gentle as a fall rain.
Farzan shook his head.
“What happened, babe?”
Babe.Farzan wasn’t David’s babe anymore.
